Middle East

Afghan official: NATO airstrike kills 9 civilians, five children and four women

"A NATO airstrike struck two houses, killing as many as nine Afghan civilians and four insurgents in an eastern province near the Pakistani border, officials said Wednesday. The attack occurred about 10 p.m. Tuesday during a joint NATO-Afghan operation in the Shigal district of Kunar province, a lawmaker from the area said. The U.S.-led military alliance in Kabul said it was looking into the reports. Wagma Sapay, a member of parliament from Kunar, said the civilians killed were in one house while four senior Taliban leaders were slain as they were gathering next door in the village of Sharpool in the Chawkam area." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAfghan official: NATO airstrike kills 9 civilians, five children and four women

Tear gas, water cannons as Egyptians throw stones at presidential palace

"The clashes broke out after several hundred demonstrators marched to the palace on a day of marches against Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Thousands of other protesters took part in separate demonstrations across the country. Protesters are demanding that Morsi fulfill the goals of the revolution which brought him and his Muslim Brotherhood party to power. Those demands include a new unity government, amendments to an Islamist-drafted constitution, and the sacking of Egypt's prosecutor general. The demonstrators are also angry that no one has been held accountable for the deaths of dozens of protesters in clashes with police during recent months." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTear gas, water cannons as Egyptians throw stones at presidential palace

Pakistan hatches biometric ID scheme to claw back unpaid taxes

"Pakistan's National Data Base and Registration Authority (NADRA) aims to put every Pakistani adult into one of the world's largest multi-biometric databases. 'We have 452 static centers where people are coming and giving this data, we have 250 mobile vans, we have a motorcycle service, and we (even) have people up in the mountains -- skiers and mountaineers with man-pack units,' says chairman Tariq Malik whose mission it is to log every potential taxpayer in Pakistan. 'We are going to block their ID cards, and we are going to block their bank accounts, and we are going to block their foreign travels until the either pay or file an appeal,' says Hakeem." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPakistan hatches biometric ID scheme to claw back unpaid taxes

Iranians march in government-sponsored rally to mark revolution

"Hundreds of thousands of people marched on Sunday in Tehran and other cities chanting 'Death to America' as Iran marked the 34th anniversary of the Islamic revolution that ousted the US-backed shah. Tehran is currently under a series of international sanctions aimed at curbing its controversial nuclear programme of uranium enrichment. The sanctions have led to a severe economic crisis, choking Iran’s banking system and limiting its oil exports, the country’s main foreign revenue earner. According to a recent survey by the US polling firm Gallup, Iran’s nuclear programme is supported by a large majority of its population." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIranians march in government-sponsored rally to mark revolution

Watch Iran’s $40-Million Oil Rig Collapse Into The Sea

"An Iranian oil rig that cost $40 million and weighs more than 4 million pounds sank in the Persian Gulf last week, news.com.au reports. Workers rushed to get off the rig—which belongs to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and took 30 months to build—as it disappeared into Iran's South Pars gas field in about 10 seconds. Last month Iran’s oil minister acknowledged in a report that oil sales were down 40 percent and income dropped 45 percent in the previous nine months, largely because of U.S. sanctions aimed at curbing the country's disputed nuclear program. Nevertheless, China has been purchasing more in recent months." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWatch Iran’s $40-Million Oil Rig Collapse Into The Sea

Turkey will not halt Iran gold exports despite sanctions pressure

"U.S. officials are concerned that Turkey’s gold sales, which allow Iran to export natural gas, provides a financial lifeline to Tehran, which is largely frozen out of the global banking system by Western sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme. Turkey, Iran's biggest natural gas customer, has been paying the Islamic Republic for oil and gas imports with Turkish liras, because sanctions prevent it from paying in dollars or euros. Iranians then buy gold in Turkey, and couriers carry bullion worth millions of dollars in hand luggage to Dubai, where it can be sold for foreign currency or shipped to Iran." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTurkey will not halt Iran gold exports despite sanctions pressure

Iranians shun own currency for Gold

"Iranians continued to purchase gold from every available centers on fears about it's economy, particularly the risk of soaring inflation and a wobbly currency. Worries about the declining buying power of the rial and doubts over the currency’s stability are the main drivers behind the flight to gold. Due to sanctions, Iranians have no choice but to invest in gold coins as they can't move their capital and invest in other countries. Treasured as a store of value, Iran’s gold coins, minted over centuries, are also culturally important. Produced by the Central Bank of Iran, a standard gold coin weighs 8.133 grams. It is also sold in smaller denominations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIranians shun own currency for Gold

UK deploys toy-sized spy drones in Afghanistan

"British troops in Afghanistan are now using 10-centimeter-long 16-gram spy helicopters to survey Taliban firing spots. The UK Defense Ministry plans to buy 160 of the drones under a contract worth more than $31 million. The remote-controlled PD-100 PRS aircraft, dubbed the Black Hornet, is produced by Norwegian designer Prox Dynamics. Each drone is equipped with a tiny tillable camera, a GPS coordinate receiver and an onboard autopilot system complete with gyros, accelerometers and pressure sensors, which keeps it stable in flight against winds as strong as 10 knots, according to reviews." Continue reading →

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City workers tow car after painting ‘handicapped parking’ markings around it

"In video posted to Facebook on Monday night, several workers are seen painting white lines around Hila Ben Baruch’s car and then adding a the universal symbol of a wheelchair behind the car to denote a disabled parking spot. Later in the video, a tow truck arrives to lift the car from its space and carries it away. 'While my car was parked in a [legal] blue-and-white spot, two municipal workers came by and signposted it as handicapped parking!' she wrote. 'In a heartbeat they repainted the curb, from blue and white to gray. That’s it. Simple.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCity workers tow car after painting ‘handicapped parking’ markings around it

Iraq says 3,000 inmates freed amid demonstrations

"A top Iraqi minister said on Sunday that the authorities had released 3,000 prisoners over the past month in a bid to appease weeks of angry demonstrations in Sunni-majority areas of the country. Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani’s announcement is the latest in a series of government steps to curb the protests against the alleged mistreatment of the Sunni minority at the hands of the Shiite-led authorities. According to Shahristani, around 30,000 people are in Iraqi prisons, including those convicted of a range of offences and those being held without charge." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIraq says 3,000 inmates freed amid demonstrations